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News Posted on January 20, 2017

King Hall Celebrates New Clinic Mural

UC Davis School of Law faculty, students, and staff gathered on January 18 to celebrate the new mural installed on the walls of the clinic cottage by Professor Maceo Montoya and UC Davis undergraduate students enrolled in his Chicana/o Studies Mural Workshop.

“I want to thank the artist, Maceo Montoya, and his students,” Dean Kevin R. Johnson said in brief remarks opening the celebration. “This work would not have come to fruition if it weren’t for the artist and the students, but also the clinical professors and the clinic students who have inspired us for many years with the great things they do.”

UC Davis School of Law currently operates five clinics: the Immigration Law Clinic, the Civil Rights Clinic, the Prison Law Clinic, the Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic, and the Aoki Social Justice Clinic. Work on the mural began about two years ago, when Dean Johnson contacted Montoya, who teaches in the UC Davis Department of Chicana/o Studies. Montoya and his students met with clinic faculty and staff and conceptualized and worked to complete the mural, which was finished in December 2016.

The mural is designed in three sections. The left side depicts images of being “trapped,” portraying isolation, hardship, and inability to access the justice system. The center represents “agency,” portraying clinic law students, the history of the clinic building as a farmworker cottage, and a hopeful rising sun. The right side shows “liberation,” with chains of oppression transforming into quetzals, and “justice” written in several languages. (To read the full artists' narrative on the mural, click here.)

Millard Murphy, Supervising Attorney for the Prison Law Clinic, thanked the artists for choosing images that aptly illustrated the clinic’s mission. “I hope this makes our clients comfortable when they come in,” he said. “I hope it continues to remind us of the work we are doing, who we are serving, and continues to inspire our students.”